50 years later, this deep dive into uncharted waters not only remains an unmatched record but constitutes a milestone in underwater exploration and in increasing awareness of the need to better protect the oceans.
Date: January 23, 1960
Location: Pacific Ocean: The Mariana Trench, approximately 200 miles from the island of Guam
Depth reached: 10,916 meters, a feat unsurpassed to this day
Scientific discovery: marine life thriving in the total absence of light
The bathyscaphe. LDD
Fifty years ago, Rolex and the bathyscaphe Trieste made history when US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh, accompanied by Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard, piloted the US Navy vessel to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the heart of the Mariana Trench, some 200 miles off the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. Strapped to the outside of the Swissdesigned submersible was a Rolex watch. A third-generation Rolex prototype of the Deep Sea Special was specifically engineered to withstand the tremendous pressure that would be encountered, approximately eight tons per square inch, at a depth of over 10,900 meters (35,000 feet) in the Challenger Deep.
When the Trieste and her intrepid crew of two surfaced over eight and a half hours later, they had completed the deepest dive ever undertaken by a vessel – manned or unmanned – and the Rolex Deep Sea Special was in perfect working condition. “Happy to announce that your watch works as well at 11,000 meters as it does on the surface”, Piccard wrote in a telegram addressed several days after the dive to the Rolex headquarters in Geneva.
Their successful voyage to the still deepest known place in the Earth’s oceans not only set a record that has never been broken, but also constituted an important milestone in the exploration and knowledge of the underwater world, an environment that was little known at the time despite its crucial role for man and his survival on earth.
Nearly seven miles below the surface, Walsh and Piccard used the light from their mercury vapor lamps to witness something never seen before: marine life at the very bottom of the ocean, previously believed to be unsustainable under such pressure and in the total absence of light. A discovery that astonished the global scientific community and contributed to increasing awareness of the need to better preserve our oceans.
Protecting the “blue heart of the planet”
“We are very dependent on the natural systems that sustain us. If we take care of the ocean and the rest of the natural world, we’re really taking care of ourselves”, said Sylvia Earle, the pioneering US marine biologist and Rolex Testimonee who has dedicated her life to the protection of what she calls the “blue heart of the planet”.
Walsh and Piccard’s achievement brought Rolex and its extraordinary technology into the public consciousness for its scientific value. Moreover, special notice of the feat was also taken by the elite diving community who would come to treasure Rolex watches as essential tools of their trade. In water, Rolex is in its element and the name of its iconic waterproof wristwatch, the Oyster, is no accident.
Deep Sea Special Prototype. LDD
In the years following the Trieste’s “deepest dive”, the Rolex Submariner was the watch of choice for the US Naval School for Deep Sea Divers and for the US Navy’s SEA-LAB program which also provided robust developmental testing, in advance of the Rolex Sea-Dweller’s introduction in 1967.
From the creation of the Oyster in 1926 to the utmost test of its prowess in Mercedes Gleitze’s 1927 English Channel swim, on to the introduction of more and more sophisticated waterproof models since then to the present, Rolex has continuously sustained its commitment to being at the forefront of manufacturing watches that resist water and are ultimately compatible with water-related activities and underwater research.
Rolex milestones include: the Submariner created in 1953, originally waterproof to a depth of 100 meters and today to 300 meters (100 feet); the Deep Sea Special prototype of 1960 that withstood the pressure at Earth’s deepest point; the Sea-Dweller presented in 1967, waterproof to 610 meters (300 feet) and featuring a helium valve to protect it during deep dives; the 1978 Sea-Dweller 4000, waterproof to 1,220 meters (4,000 feet); the revolutionary Rolex Deepsea of 2008, waterproof to 3,900 meters (12,800 feet).
The world’s most noteworthy exploits
Rolex has always been proud to be associated with some of the world’s most noteworthy exploits: Sir Edmund Hillary’s ascent of Everest, Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier, Roger Federer becoming the champion of champions in tennis, the many victories of Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, the legendary “Big Three” in the golf world, the triumphs of sailors in major races like the Rolex Sydney Hobart, to name but a few.
The integrity of these champions and their achievements go hand in hand with the outstanding quality and precision of the Rolex watches they were wearing and the well-earned reputation of the company that stands behind these exceptional timepieces.
About Rolex
Leader in the Swiss watchmaking industry, Rolex is the crowning symbol of quality and prestige. Headquartered in Geneva, and represented in over 100 countries by 26 affiliates, the brand is recognized worldwide for both its savoirfaire and the peerless performance of its exquisite timepieces, all rigorously designed, manufactured and assembled at the Group’s four sites in Switzerland. Rolex owes its reputation to the pioneering spirit and perpetual quest for perfection and innovation that have distinguished the brand since its creation over a century ago. In 1926 Rolex invented the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch and, in 1931, it created the first self-winding mechanism with a Perpetual rotor. Rolex is also renowned for its privileged association with the worlds of sport, exploration and culture, the Oyster wristwatch being ever synonymous with excellence and achievement. The brand further prides itself on its avant-garde role in the world of sponsoring and philanthropy.
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